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Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management is planning to step back into telecoms investing by joining a consortium bidding for a Canadian wireless company.

Cerberus, which earlier this month agreed to acquire Chrysler for a record-breaking $7.5bn (€5.5bn), is in talks with Montreal-based BCE to acquire the company.

If Cerberus mounts a winning bid, the deal would be the first telecommunications company for the firm in some time. Cerberus does not currently have investments in the sector, according to its website, though it has previously invested in companies such as MCI Communications.

Private equity firm The Blackstone Group is partnering with Canadian phone company Telus in a bid to buy BCE for C$29bn ($26.8bn), according to The Globe & Mail.

Cerberus will need Canadian partners to comply with regulations that limit foreign ownership of Canadian firms. Those partners are telecoms companies Shaw Communications and CanWest Global Communications, according to a report in Montreal daily The Gazette.

A spokesman for CBE could not confirm the identity of Cerberus’ investment partners. Cerberus would only confirm it was in discussions with BCE.

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Cerberus recently closed its fourth fund at a record $7.5bn, which it will use to target distressed companies.

Separately, Canadian private equity firm Onex said it was selling additional shares in airplane parts manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems. Onex will sell approximately 29.2 million of the shares for expected gross proceeds of $978n. Onex said it expects $2.2bn in proceeds from the company including the secondary offering.

Onex bought Spirit AeroSystem for $1.2bn from Boeing in 2005 and raised $1.43bn when the company floated last year.